Detroit City Council delays vote on contract for water consultant pushing deep cuts

Nov. 14, 2012

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Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

The Detroit City Council, skeptical that massive cuts to the city's Water and Sewerage Department will bring about reforms, decided to wait a week before voting on a contract with an outside consultant that proposes slashing 81% of the agency's work force.

The council declined to vote Tuesday on a controversial plan to pay EMA of Minneapolis $48 million in a four-year, no-bid contract opposed by city unions and environmental activists.

Both groups thundered their disagreement at a public hearing Tuesday, calling the plan an assault on city officials' rights to determine what's best for the department and its workers.

"There is nothing wrong with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department that the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department can't fix," said Catherine Phillips, a staff representative for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 25. "I am sick and tired of this 'sky is falling' mentality ... ever since Mayor Dave Bing was elected."

The Bing administration and the department's board of commissioners say the contract will help make the department more efficient and ultimately lead to lower rates for the 4.3 million residents in metro Detroit it serves -- a contention hotly contested by workers and their unions. Opponents say many of the problems spring from chronic understaffing.

Council President Pro Tem Gary Brown said he will push for a vote at a City Council community meeting set for 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mark Twain Elementary-Middle School, 12800 Visger, in southwest Detroit.

Councilwoman JoAnn Watson noted that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked for a delay in approving the contract until Dec. 1 so the agency can review the potential impact of the massive cuts.